The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

They were cowriting literary darlings until they hit a plot hole that turned their lives upside down.

Three years ago, Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were the brightest literary stars on the horizon, their cowritten books topping bestseller lists. But on the heels of their greatest success, they ended their partnership on bad terms, for reasons neither would divulge to the public. They haven't spoken since, and never planned to, except they have one final book due on contract.

Facing crossroads in their personal and professional lives, they're forced to reunite. The last thing they ever thought they'd do again is hole up in the tiny Florida town where they wrote their previous book, trying to finish a new manuscript quickly and painlessly. Working through the reasons they've hated each other for the past three years isn't easy, especially not while writing a romantic novel.

While passion and prose push them closer together in the Florida heat, Katrina and Nathan will learn that relationships, like writing, sometimes take a few rough drafts before they get it right.

Paperback, 317 pages

Published January 25th 2022

 by Berkley Books

3.5/5 stars

I went on a kick a few months ago in reading bookish books, The Roughest Draft fitted that theme perfectly.

Written by two authors, a man and a woman kind of matches the story from the point of view of a man and a woman, Katrina and Nathan. At one time they were best friends, authors of books that were on the bestseller‘s list. But then something happened four years ago and they haven’t spoken since. And no one really knows the truth. They are back together, each with their own reasons as they write another book. 

This was a combination read and listen for me and I’m glad I went that route. The book started off good but slow down a bit as Kat and Nathan worked on this book but basically not talking. It does jump back in time to slowly tell the reader what transpired four years ago.  I loved friend Harriet, that spark that creates tension breaks and wish she played a bigger part.

The Roughest Draft is a story of miscommunication, discovering oneself and tension. At times frustrating to read, which is great to switch over to the audiobook. It’s only in the last quarter of the book were things start to happen. The previous conflict is revealed and an ending that predictably worked.

All in all a fun read, perfect for those into bookish books.

This book was part of my 2022 reading off my shelf challenge